


Happiness is More than a Wish

by CelticKitsune



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 14:52:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15439518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelticKitsune/pseuds/CelticKitsune
Summary: Mikey is given the gift of a single wish, the only catch, he can't use it for himself.One of my submissions for the Orange Crush fanbook!





	Happiness is More than a Wish

I strongly urge you to check out the [Orange Crush Fanbook](https://discoursetmnt.wixsite.com/archive/picker-orange-crush), put together by Itschai! 

 

 

 

“Are we there yet?” Mikey whined.

“No,” Donnie sighed, the two of them falling silent as they jumped from one building to another.

They had been running like this for nearly fifteen minutes, and Mikey was getting bored. He almost wished he had stayed back at the Lair, however things were just as boring back there.

Leo had decided to take over the TV for the evening, watching his Space Heroes marathon, while Raph had snuck out with Casey hours ago. And Mikey had been convinced that there had to be something more entertaining to do, that didn’t involve sitting in the dojo drinking tea with Splinter.

“Are we there yet?” Mikey asked again, earning an annoyed sigh from Donnie.

“No, Mikey, we’re not,” the purple-banded turtle answered again.

“Where are we going?” Mikey asked, deciding to change his question before Donnie got really annoyed and decided to ditch him.

“You insisted on coming with me, followed me all the way out here, and don’t even know where we’re going?” Donnie asked.

“Nope!” Mikey admitted with a wide grin, earning himself another sigh from the purple-banded turtle.

“I’m going to the museum to see the new exhibit they have there,” Donnie explained.

“Aw man, a museum? I thought you were going to do something fun, like, I don’t know, build a super giant robot or something.” Mikey pouted.

“In case you’ve forgotten, I have built a super giant robot. The turtle mech, remember?” Donnie said.

“Oh, yeah.” Mikey laughed. “How about building a smaller giant robot then?”

“I could just build another metalhead,” Donnie suggested.

“Yeah, let’s go do that!” Mikey nodded excitedly, and Donnie chuckled.

“Okay, we’ll make a stop at the dump for parts. After the museum.” Donnie laughed when Mikey let out a groan and followed his brother the rest of the way to the museum.

The two of them landed silently on the roof, and Donnie pulled his bag off his back. Mikey peered over his brother’s shoulder, looking at the pile of things his brother had apparently thought important to bring to the museum.

“Dude, what’s that for?” Mikey asked, picking up what looked like a laser pointer.

“That... is what will help get us into the museum,” Donnie said, taking the tool away from Mikey.

“How come you never let me use the fun looking toys,” Mikey huffed, turning slightly so he could sit down and lean back against where Donnie was trying to work. He blindly reached into the bag Donnie had with him, pulled out another one of the tools his brother had thought necessary to bring along, and started whistling as he fiddled around with it.

“Are you done yet?” Mikey asked.

“Mikey, if you ask me another dumb question, I swear…” Donnie let the threat trail off, and Mikey smiled up at him.

“You know, you could open it the Leo way and pick the lock; or we could get in the ‘Raph’ way,” Mikey suggested.

“I’m afraid to ask. What’s the ‘Raph’ way?” Donnie questioned, taking the tool Mikey was playing with away from him.

“Simple, just break the glass,” Mikey said with a shrug.

“And what about you, what would your way be?” Donnie asked curiously.

“Me? I’m the ‘sit and let my brothers take care of it because one of them will get us in eventually’ kind of guy.” Mikey laughed when Donnie rolled his eyes at him.

“And how would you describe my way,” Donnie asked curiously.

“You do it the nerd way, taking out alarms and cameras. and then you pick the lock and head in,” Mikey said, earning himself a surprised look, followed by a small smile from Donnie. “So, are you done yet?” Mikey asked. He laughed again when Donnie’s smile fell and the purple-banded turtle let out a sigh, turning back to his task at hand.

Another minute passed, and Mikey was contemplating asking his brother again if he was done yet, when he heard the click of a lock and Donnie swung the window open.

“Cool! First one down is a moldy pizza!” Mikey said, jumping into the window before Donnie could stop him.

“Mikey!” Donnie hissed.

Mikey looked up toward Donnie from where he had landed on the head of a dinosaur skeleton.

“You idiot,” the olive green turtle said.

“Sorry, dude!” Mikey called back, watching as Donnie lowered a rope into the museum.

“Keep it down!” Donnie scolded. “I’ve taken out the security, and the cameras, but there are still guards walking around! Now get off that thing before you break something!”

“Fine, spoilsport,” Mikey huffed, easily jumping down, landing with a roll on the floor before springing to his feet. “There, happy?”

“Ecstatic,” Donnie said flatly, once he was also on the ground. “Seriously Mikey, try not to break anything,” the purple-banded turtle warned and Mikey gave him a salute, grinning widely as he followed his brother further into the museum.

Of course, with Mikey’s short attention span, and his inability to keep his hands to himself, it was inevitable that something at some point during their trip would be broken.

\----------x

“Dude, I told you I was sorry,” Mikey said as he followed Donnie’s fast pace through the sewers. “Besides, breaking that… what-cha-ma-call-it turned out to be a good thing,” the orange-banded turtle said, still trying to convince his brother that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. “I mean, you saw it too! I just poked it, and the whole thing cracked open and then WHOOSH!”

“Yes, Mikey, I did see it,” Donnie said. “And freeing that… spirit… thing, we don’t KNOW if it was a good idea or not.”

“You’re just jealous,” Mikey said as they made their way into the Lair, not paying much attention to the other three members of their family sitting on the couch.

“Why would I be jealous?” Donnie questioned.

“Because I’m the one who gets the wish,” Mikey said, sticking his tongue out at his brother.

“I’m not jealous, besides, it’s not like you can use the wish for yourself anyway. AND I still don’t think it’s a good idea to use it at all! You’ve seen enough movies and read enough comic books to know that never ends well for anyone,” Donnie pointed out.

“Yeah, I know, which is why I’m going to really think about this one,” Mikey argued back.

“Uh guys,” Leo broke in, and Mikey looked over toward his eldest brother. “What happened?”

“Dude! You should have been there! I thought this place was super boring, but then I found this… funny looking thing, looked kinda like a moldy tomato, only it was made of stone, or gems or something…and I just bumped into it and then this genie dude came out! And now Donnie is super jealous that this dude gave me a wish for freeing him,” Mikey explained.

“Right,” Raph said, coming to stand next to Leo, as their father headed off toward the kitchen. “So, this magic being granted you one wish?” he asked skeptically.

“Well, no, he hasn’t granted me anything yet, and the wish isn’t really for me…” Mikey said, shuffling nervously when both his older brothers looked at him and then toward Donnie for confirmation. Because this was Mikey after all, and it was sometimes difficult for his brothers to believe anything he said, due to his overactive imagination.

Donnie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Mikey freed a spirit that had been trapped in what appeared to be a magical artifact. I don’t think it was a genie, but whatever it was has offered Mikey one wish.”

Mikey looked to Donnie, then back to his other brothers. “One of these days you dudes are gonna learn to believe me,” Mikey insisted.

“Maybe when you stop believing the monster under your bed is gonna getcha.” Raph chuckled, flicking Mikey’s forehead. “So, about this wish, what lame brain thing did ya ask for?”

“Mikey’s not allowed to use the wish for himself,” Donnie explained. “So, there isn’t going to be a lifetime supply of pizza.”

“So, you’re saying Mikey can still make a wish?” Leo asked, looking toward Mikey, who nodded.

“Yes, and I’m going to wish for something super cool!” Mikey insisted. “Just as soon as I think of it,” he said with a chuckle.

“And I still say Mikey should just forget about the wish. It could cause more harm than good,” Donnie said.

Mikey rolled his eyes. “Whatever, dude.” He waved him off. “I’m gonna go see Ice Cream Kitty.”

He hurried off toward the kitchen and paused just inside the doorway, blinking when he saw Splinter standing in front of the freezer, door open. Ice Cream Kitty let out a happy meow when she saw Mikey.

“It sounds as if you have had an eventful evening, Michelangelo,” Splinter said.

“Heh, yeah, you could say that,” Mikey said, rubbing the back of his head a little nervously. “Don wasn't too happy with me though.” Mikey glanced back toward the living room; he could still hear his brothers arguing about the wish.

Mikey sighed and made his way over to the freezer, Ice Cream Kitty meowing again and purring loudly when Mikey started scratching her behind the ear.

“What troubles you, my son?” Splinter asked.

Mikey glanced at his father for a moment before turning his attention back towards his cat.

“Do you think Donnie’s right?” Mikey asked. It wasn’t very often he let his brothers get to him, however, as the arguing could still be heard from the other room, Mikey was beginning to question if having an unlimited wish was such a good thing after all.

“I heard a story once in my youth,” Splinter began, and Mikey looked at him curiously. “There was a young man who loved helping others, and would often be called foolish for giving so much to people who did not appreciate him...”

Mikey turned to fully face Splinter now, the story catching his interest.

“One day, a sorcerer came to the village, hearing of the man’s giving nature, and decided to put him through a series of tests. He wanted to break the young man’s kind spirit, taking everything away from him, his home and family, even the very clothes off his back. Everyone he had helped through the years had abandoned him, and as he lay dying in the street, the sorcerer appeared before him, called him a fool, and laughed at him and his kind giving nature.”

“What did the man do?” Mikey asked curiously.

“The kind man simply smiled, and said that he was glad to have been able to give the sorcerer even just a moment of happiness, and offered him his last possession, a Temari ball,” Splinter said. “It was rumored that the kind man managed to take the sorcerer’s powers, trapping them, and his own spirit within the temari.”

“What is a temari?” Mikey questioned.

“They are gifts, an object that contains a wish for the one receiving the ball,” Splinter said with a smile.

“So, there’s more than one? Do all of them have awesome wish granting spirits in them?” Mikey asked and Splinter chuckled.

“No, my son, they do not.” Splinter placed a hand on the small turtle’s head. “But I do believe you have been given a great gift, and a terrible burden. There are very few that could be given the power of an unlimited wish without going mad.”

Mikey frowned, looking up at his father; it wasn’t until that moment that it really seemed to sink in exactly what this wish meant and how much power he potentially held. He looked back toward the living room. His brothers had yet to stop arguing, and from what he could hear, they were now passionately debating what the wish could be used for, if they were to use it at all.

“Do not let others sway your heart,” Splinter cautioned, “this is your decision.”

“What if I don’t know what to use my wish on?” Mikey asked.

“I am sure you will figure it out,” Splinter said confidently, heading back toward the living area and leaving Mikey in the kitchen.

Mikey huffed and looked back at Ice Cream Kitty. “What do you think, kitty?” he asked.

She meowed in response and Mikey nodded.

“Maybe I will talk to my brothers… in a couple hours,” he added when he heard Splinter breaking up the argument in the living room.

\---------x

Mikey wasn’t sure what Splinter had told his brothers, but whatever it was, they had all left Mikey alone for the remainder of the evening, giving the youngest the time and space he needed to think about the wish, and what he might do with it.

Lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling, Mikey let out a long sigh. He rolled over and stared at the clock. It was nearing three in the morning, and on a normal day he would have to be awake in a couple hours to get breakfast ready for the family.

“I could wish for someone else to be on breakfast duty,” Mikey mumbled to himself as he rolled over again.

Deciding sleep wasn’t going to be happening, Mikey let out a frustrated sigh as he sat up and got out of bed.

He made his way out into the living room, focusing on the game system and debating for a moment if he should just spend his time trying to beat Raph’s high score. However, light coming from Donnie’s lab caught his attention, and Mikey made his way over toward the door, looking in at his brother.

The purple-banded turtle was sat at his desk, mask removed from his face and draped around his neck instead. His full focus was on the computer screen in front of him. Mikey frowned when he realised he could see the dark circles under his brother’s eyes from where he stood.

“Donnie?” Mikey asked, startling his brother out of the near trance-like state he had been in.

Donnie jerked back, spinning in his chair quickly and blinking at Mikey.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Donnie exclaimed.

“I wasn’t sneaking,” Mikey insisted, stepping further into the lab. “What are you doing?” he asked, looking at the screen.

“Nothing, just running a quick diagnosis; some of my equipment has been acting up, so I was trying to pinpoint the problem, but it’s been taking a lot longer than I thought,” Donnie said, turning his head slightly to look at Mikey. “What are you doing awake?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Mikey said with a shrug, and Donnie’s frown took on a worried hint.

“Nightmares?” Donnie asked, turning fully to face Mikey.

“Nah, just having trouble sleeping tonight.” Mikey sighed and hopped up onto Donnie’s desk.

“Having trouble sleeping is usually my job,” Donnie commented.

Mikey shrugged again, swinging his feet as he looked around the lab, and at everything that Donnie had built over the years.

“So, D, if you could have anything in the whole world, what would it be?” Mikey asked, trying to make his question sound casual, but he was sure he had failed from the look that Donnie was giving him. Mikey hoped his brother wasn’t going to lecture him about the wish again.

“If I had to make a wish?” Donnie asked hesitantly, still obviously concerned, though his question gave Mikey hope he would have help in figuring out what to use his wish for after all.

Nodding eagerly Mikey shifted a bit so that he was facing more toward Donnie. “Yeah, something for yourself. What is it you would want most of all.”

Donnie looked even more uncertain at the question, though seemed to be putting some thought into it as he looked around his lab, then back to his computer and the program that he was currently running. “A new lab, maybe?” he hedged.

“What’s wrong with this lab?” Mikey frowned, also looking around again.

Donnie snorted and Mikey’s frown deepened.

“Really? You HAVE seen this equipment, haven’t you?” Donnie waved his hand around indicating everything he had either made or salvaged from the dump over the years.

“I think most of it looks pretty awesome,” Mikey admitted. “Do you really need new things? I mean, you’re the smartest person I know. Even April, who goes to human school and is taught things by people who are supposed to be smart, isn’t as awesome as you are,” Mikey said.

Donnie blinked at his brother, shaking his head. “That’s beside the point, Mikey. If you think what I can make now is amazing, then think about what I could do with something new,” Donnie said.

“So, a new lab, with all the high tech things you could possibly ever want?” Mikey asked and Donnie nodded.

“Alright, well… thanks,” Mikey said, hopping off the desk and stretching. “I’m going to try and sleep now,” he said and turned to leave the lab.

“Mikey,” Donnie called after him.

Mikey looked back at his purple-banded brother.

“You know, I won’t be upset if you decide not to use your wish for me. I think… I’m happy enough knowing you cared enough to ask.”

Mikey smiled and nodded. “Night,” he said.

“Night, Mikey,”

\--------------x

The following morning, Mikey felt no closer to figuring out the wish. Talking to Donnie had helped, however Mikey felt as if there was more he could do with the wish. He also felt it would be unfair to ask Donnie what he wanted, and not give his other brothers the same opportunity.

After morning training, when the four brothers usually went off to do their own thing, Mikey stood in the doorway of the dojo, looking at Leo, who was doing extra practice with Splinter. And then over toward Raph, who had jumped the back of the couch, grabbing up his t-phone, and was now talking loudly with Casey.

Deciding it was better to interrupt Raph than Leo at the moment, Mikey hurried over to the couch, jumping clear over the back and landing on the cushion next to Raph with a soft ‘poof’.

“Hey, Raphie,” Mikey said, his voice loud and hyper.

“Go away, Mikey,” Raph growled, shoving his hand out and pressing his palm against Mikey’s face in an effort to push him away.

Mikey stuck his tongue out and licked Raph’s hand, earning a shout and a sound of disgust from his brother.

“You nasty little twerp!” Raph snapped, putting the phone down to glare at MIkey, fist raised to smack his brother.

“What would you wish for?!” Mikey asked quickly, ducking his head, his hands raised to protect himself from the threatening fist.

“I… wait, what?” Raph blinked.

“I just wanted to ask you what would you wish for, if you had one wish and could have anything,” Mikey repeated, blinking bright baby-blue eyes at his brother.

Raph picked his phone back up. “Hey, Case, I’ll call you back,” he said before hanging up, ignoring the confused shouting coming from the phone. “Alright, what are you playin’ at?” Raph asked.

“Nothing, I was just thinking, I don’t know what I would use my wish on. And I had a thought last night, that I don’t even know what you would really want,” Mikey explained.

“So you want to know what I want? Why?” Raph asked, sounding skeptical.

“Like I said, I don’t know what to wish for, so I’m trying to get ideas. I already asked Donnie what he would want,” Mikey said, frowning when Raph snorted.

“Let me guess, it was something dorky like a new computer or somethin’,” Raph said.

“I’m not gonna tell you, and if you’re not gonna take this seriously, I’ll just wait and ask Leo what he wants.” Mikey huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and turning away from his brother.

“What?” Raph blinked in surprise at his brother’s weird attitude.

The two of them sat in silence for a couple minutes before Raph spoke again.

“No crime,” he said.

Mikey looked back at him, tilting his head curiously. “Crime?”

“Yeah, like… no more bad guys, no more evil, no more aliens trying to take over the earth, stuff like that,” Raph explained.

“You really mean that?” Mikey asked, unfolding his arms and turning to face Raph once more. “Wouldn’t you get board?”

“Maybe, but… my boredom would be worth it, if it meant we didn’t have to hide anymore, if we didn’t have to risk our lives the way we do,” Raph explained.

Mikey nodded his head in understanding. Something like that did sound nice, though Mikey wondered if he would be able to make a wish like that at all, because in a way it would be a wish for himself; but then there was also the question of what would happen to all those ‘bad guys’ he wished away.

“I don’t know if I can do that,” Mikey admitted, looking down. “It sounds nice, I mean, really nice, but… if I wished for that, wouldn’t I vanish too, for killing all of those people?” Mikey asked.

“What? No, I don’t think that’s how it works,” Raph said, his eyes going wide in shock.

“But we don’t know HOW the wish works, so… I like your wish, but I don’t know if I could even consider it… I’m sorry.” Mikey said. “The best I could offer is that no more bugs would ever come near you,” he said with a grin.

“Eh, I suppose that is a good runner up wish,” Raph said with a laugh. “Now what do ya say ta me whipping your ass at that racing game?”

“Sure, so long as you don’t cry too much when you find out I’m still better than you,” Mikey laughed, rolling off the couch and diving for the first player controller before Raph could even stand.

\---------------x

Mikey groaned and tossed down the controller. Raph had beaten him for the tenth time already, and he was done.

“Sorry dude, I’m just not into this today,” Mikey sighed, falling sideways on the couch.

“That wish is really botherin’ ya, isn’t it?” Raph asked, putting his own controller down and looking at Mikey in concern.

“No… yes… I don’t know.” MIkey groaned, grabbing a pillow and pulling it over his face. “I just didn’t think it would be this hard to wish for something!” Mikey complained, his voice mostly muffled by the pillow. “I mean, I want to use it on something SUPER amazing, but I can’t think of what. I could just use it for Donnie, or you… but I dunno, I feel like there’s something I’m missing,” Mikey admitted.

“I thought you’d be used to that by now, you’re usually missing something,” Raph teased, and Mikey threw the pillow at him.

“Not helping!” Mikey huffed.

“I already helped, ya said you already asked Don, and me about what we wished for. What about fearless?” Raph questioned.

“I haven’t gotten the chance to yet,” Mikey admitted.

“So why not go ask him,” Raph suggested. “Even if he’s still in with Master Splinter, if he doesn’t have the answer you’re lookin’ for, Sensei might.”

Mikey looked apprehensively toward the dojo door. “What if they’re busy… I don’t want to interrupt them, or worse, be asked to join.” Mikey shuddered dramatically.

“Ya nutcase.” Raph shoved him, chuckling when Mikey yelped and fell off the couch.

“Fine, I know when I’m not wanted.” Mikey huffed, jumping to his feet and storming off toward the dojo, nose stuck into the air.

He paused by the doorway and glanced back towards Raph. The red-banded turtle had turned mostly back toward the game now, but Mikey could see the grin on his brother’s face, the only indication he thought Mikey’s antics were at least a little amusing.

Turning forward again, Mikey cracked open the door to the dojo, peeking inside to see if he could spot his eldest brother. He didn’t see the blue-banded ninja anywhere; he did, however, see Splinter.

The aged rat was kneeling on the floor in front of the altar he had made for Tang Shen, though Mikey couldn’t see the picture of Splinter’s wife there. His first thought was that something had happened to the picture, but as Splinter shifted, Mikey could see the small frame being clutched in shaky hands.

“Tang Shen… my beloved,” Splinter said, his voice rough and full of emotion.

Feeling like he had just seen something very private, and not wanting to draw attention to himself, Mikey closed the door and left. He headed straight to his room where he could think about what he had just witnessed.

Mikey hadn’t noticed it until now, to occupied with his own problem for most of that morning, but thinking about it now, Splinter had seemed a bit off today; his ears had been a little flatter against his head, and his expression had a hint of sadness to it.

It was an expression that Mikey had seen on his father’s face from time to time, and until today Mikey had mostly assumed his father hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before, or perhaps was going through cheese withdrawal. It wasn’t until now that the young turtle realized that it was far more serious than that. Splinter was sad.

Mikey never liked it when anyone in his family was sad, and he liked it even less when he didn’t know what he could do to fix it. He couldn’t bring Tang Shen back from the dead, and he was certain that even using his wish on something like that could go horribly wrong.

“I wish…” Mikey trailed off, certain now that he had to use his wish for Splinter, but there was only one thing that he could think of that he really wanted. “I wish for Splinter to be happy, always,” he said, closing his eyes tightly as he focused on that one thought.

He didn’t know what would make Splinter truly happy; his father had lost his human life, being been turned into a giant rat, after losing the family he had once had. Mikey had never known him as anything else, but he had seen plenty of other mutants, and people, go crazy and be angry and upset because of their mutation. And he didn’t want his father to be upset or angry, or even sad, because of what had happened.

A familiar warmth filled him, and Mikey smiled knowing the wish was working, because this was the same feeling he’d had when the wish had first been given to him. Something exploded out of him, and Mikey cried out in surprise, stumbling backwards and falling over, his head hitting the corner of his desk as he fell.

Leo’s shocked yell of “Mikey!” was the last thing he heard before he lost consciousness.

\--------------x

Voices were muffled around him, and there was a throbbing in his head. “Uhg…” Mikey groaned forcing his eyes open and blinking up at the worried faces that were leaning over him.

“Michelangelo, are you okay, my son?” Splinter asked.

“Yes… uhg… no, I think so… I will be, as soon as the drum in my head stops,” Mikey said, reaching up and placing a hand on his head. “What hit me?”

“You hit your desk,” Donnie explained, removing Mikey’s hand and placing a cool cloth on the smaller turtle’s head.

“I heard you scream,” Leo spoke next. “When I got to your room you were already unconscious,” he explained.

“And THAT is why you should clean your room once in a while.” Raph huffed.

“My room is fine,” Mikey said. “I… I used the wish, and it just sort of… surprised me,” he explained.

“You… ” Donnie trailed off, staring at Mikey in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell us you were going to use it then? Mikey, you could have been seriously hurt and-”

“What is done, is done, my son,” Splinter interrupted. “The only injury your brother has received from this ordeal, is from his lack of balance. Something that can easily be fixed with a few days extra training.” Splinter chuckled when all four of his sons groaned.

“So...” Raph spoke after everyone had fallen silent again. “What did you use your wish on? Am I bug free for the rest of my life?”

“Heh, sorry, no,” Mikey said, looking a little nervous as he glanced around at his brothers and father. “I… I used my wish, um… I used it for you, Sensei,” Mikey said, his eyes locking onto Splinter’s gold ones.

“For me?” Splinter asked, sounding truly surprised, and curious about what Mikey could have wished for.

“I... I saw you in the dojo before. You were really sad and… I just thought, well… you never asked to be turned into a giant rat, and I know we’re not the family you lost before… and you looked really sad so… so I wished for your happiness,” Mikey explained, now even more nervous that he had perhaps done the wrong thing, that maybe he should have asked Splinter before using the wish for him.

Splinter’s expression softened, reaching out and placing a hand on Mikey’s head.

“My son, you and your brothers, while this is not the life I originally chose for myself, the four of you have given my life purpose and meaning. To call you four my sons, that is what makes me truly happy.”  
END


End file.
